A Place to Stand ~ Steven Mead, Interim Director of Ministries with Children and Youth

Monday, November 07, 2016

Archimedes, the ancient Greek philosopher and engineer, has famously said,“Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world.”
Our Place to Stand is right here. In this Special Place. When you fall down here, as one of our second graders said when asked what they like about
this place, “When you fall down here, someone helps you up.” Gives you a place to stand.

We believe that a life of sacred purpose contains at its core, elements of reverence, right relationship, service, and lifelong learning. Thus, we offer
here interwoven experiences of meaningful worship, opportunities for deep connection with others, engagement with the wider world, and spiritual practice
and study—the levers that are critical to your well-being, the well-being of your family, and the well-being of the world. These levers—right
relationship with self, with others, and the ultimate—are what we need as individuals to move through the world with grace, and to move the world
as a congregation.

Now we need a fulcrum; something to lean against to give our lever power. We are covenantal here. We care more about belonging, behaving, and being than
believing. Our fulcrum in this covenantal relationship is one another—working together. That’s where our power as a healthy congregation comes
from—from leaning on one another. Working together.

The important question here is what difference will this church make in the world, for whom, and for how much? This is the work of this church. Your job
is not to be on the board, to run a committee, or go to a potluck—it’s to give back to this world your gift that someone else needs. And when
you do, your life and the lives around you will never be the same. And it won’t be about you. It will be about us. All of us, together.

There’s work to do and we need to do it. Not to endure, but to transform. To make a difference for someone. To care about someone. To experience and embrace
the world and ourselves.